Services, according to Susan Keehn, an advocate at the Alexandria Someplace Safe, include a 24-hour crisis hotline, resources, advocacy, support groups, shelter and safe housing, legal advocacy, school, community and professional training, as well as other services.

In addition, Keehn noted that Someplace Safe advocates will do presentations to businesses, organizations, churches or wherever else it's needed about domestic violence and how people in those places can help.

"Any group wanting to learn more can give us a call and we will be there," said Keehn. "Our goal is to make this community safer. Ideally, we would like it to be violence free, but that would be a huge undertaking."

During the 2008 fiscal calendar for the Alexandria office of Someplace Safe, Keehn said there were 128 women, 22 men and nine children who received help because they were victims of domestic violence.

Those were the number of victims who were helped directly, meaning they contacted Someplace Safe themselves. The numbers don't represent those who were referred to Someplace Safe because of being in a domestic violence situation.

From February of 2007 to September of 2008, Someplace Safe provided services to 62 primary victims of sexual assault. Primary victims are those who were violated. It also provided services to 31 secondary victims, which includes parents and/or friends of the victims.

From February of 2007 through September of 2008, Someplace Safe made contact with or offered services to 1,360 primary victims of general crime and 20 secondary victims.

Definitions

According to the Someplace Safe Web site, www.someplacesafe.info, domestic violence is defined as a pattern of controlling behaviors to an intimate partner. The abuse can be physical, emotional and/or sexual.

Sexual assault is defined as any sexual activity involving a person who does not or cannot consent. Sexual assault includes obscene phone calls, exposing, sexual abuse of children, incest, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation of clients by professionals, Internet exploitation or rape.